HALLOWEEN. Understanding this holiday.

What is Halloween?










There are a lot things said about Halloween. Ignorance is the predominant thing. Personally, I think it is silly to celebrate something so far from our culture. That is one thing. On the other hand, I'm shocked of what I hear from some people who claim that this festivity is a celebration of a Satanic kind! Nobody criticizes the comercialization of Christmas, so, why Halloween? Here you have the history of Halloween, taken form the History channel website. Read it, an make an INFORMED decision.



HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN



Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.



Jack o ‘lantern



Pumpkin carving is a popular part of modern America's Halloween celebration. Come October, pumpkins can be found everywhere in the country from doorsteps to dinner tables. Despite the widespread carving that goes on in this country every autumn, few Americans really know why or when the jack o'lantern tradition began. Or, for that matter, whether the pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable. Read on to find out!

People have been making jack o'lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.



Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.





Halloween comes to America





As European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. Because of the rigid Protestant belief systems that characterized early New England, celebration of Halloween in colonial times was extremely limited there.

It was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups, as well as the American Indians, meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included "play parties," public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's fortunes, dance, and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities also featured the telling of ghost stories and mischief-making of all kinds. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.



In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition. Young women believed that, on Halloween, they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors.

In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers, than about ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft..

Pre Test Sophomore Classes

OBJECTIVE
Use determiners in context.

I.- Put in something, someone, somewhere or anything, anyone, anywhere into the gaps. (5 points)

1. I’s dark, I can’t see anything.
2. John lives somewhere near New York.
3. I know someone here who can help us.
4. I can’t find my keys anywhere.
5. I want something to read.


OBJECTIVE
Apply the correct modal verb (mustn’t/don’t have to) according to the context.

III.- Use “must”, “mustn’t” or “don’t have to”. (10 points)

1. You mustn'tlet the cats sleep on my clean shirts. Look! They are covered in hairs.
2. You don't have to have lunch with my parents. I’m not forcing you.
3. I mustn't forget to call Granny. It’s her birthday tomorrow.
4. You mustn't drink alcohol if you are underage.
5. We don't have to play football. We can play basketball instead.
6. You mustn't drive so aggressively. You’ll end up killing someone.
7. Helen mustn't make racist comments. It makes her seem really ignorant.
8. David doesn't have to answer your e mails. There’s no law about it.
9. It’s OK. You don't have to pay now. You can pay me at the end of the month.
10. You mustn't stay out so late without ringing me. I was very worried.


OBJECTIVE

Apply the structure “used to” for recurrent past events not performed in the present, in contrast with current activities nowadays.


VI. Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of the present simple or “used to”. (10 points)

1. She I used to travel(travel) a lot, but she doesn't go(not/go) away much these days.
2. I used to have (have) a dog, now I live(live) on an apartment.
3. I used to think (think) you were a bad person, but now I don't find you(not/find) rude at all.
4. He didn't use to smoke(not/smoke) before, now he needs(need) a package a day.
5. School didn't use to be (not/be) so difficult in Primary. Now, it is (be) really hard!


OBJECTIVE
Use vocabulary and expressions from texts: “Pop music in Britain and the USA” and “Medicine in the past-Treating headaches”.

IV. Match the word with its corresponding meaning. (10 points)

A B
1. Afford __4__ Spectacular, unbelievable.
2. Brief __3__ United Kingdom.
3. UK __7__ Medicine taken orally.
4. Amazing __2__ Something short.
5. Headache __6__ Achieving a goal.
6. Successful __8__ Intense hurting feeling.
7. Tablet __9__ Empty space.
8. Pain __5__ Pain on the head.
9. Hole __10__ Very big.
10. Huge __1__ Being able to pay for something.
11. Piercing __15__ Blood sucking creature.
12. Health __16__ Shiny.
13. Haircut __13__ Style of someone’s hair.
14. Developed world __18__ Putting things together.
15. Leech __17__ Medical care to a patient.
16. Brightly __11__ Metal ornament placed on different parts of the human body.
17. Treatment __12__ The physical or mental condition of someone.
18. Tie __14__ Advanced country, economically and technologically speaking.





V. Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Justify the false ones. (12 points)

1. __T___ Britney Spears became popular in the 2000’s.
2. __T___ Heavy metal started in the 70’s.
3. __T___ Synth pop was music played with synthesisers.
4. __F___ Rock ‘n roll started in the UK.started in the USA.
5. __F___ Indie music appeared in the 80’s. It appeared in the 90's
6. __F___ Psychedelic jackets and jeans appeared in the 70’s. They are from the 60's
7. __T___ Headache treatments in the past were very painful.
8. __T___ In ancient Egypt, people used to tie a ceramic crocodile with herbs for headaches.
9. __F___ Leeches were herbs with chemicals. Animals that suck blood.
10. __F___ The headache is an unusual medical problem. it is very common.
11. __F___ Native Americans used plants which contained a chemical found in leeches. The chemical is found in aspirin.
12. __T___ Medicine men used to make holes in the heads of people to make the headache go away.

SOPHOMORE PRE TEST: THE LOS TEMPLES OF THE MAYA

I. Match the words with its corresponding  meaning.

                   A                              B

1.-  Archaeologist               ___7___  Very old. 

2.-  Give up                         ___6___  Information about   something.

3.-  Large                            ___5___  Achieving a goal.

4.-  Leave                           ___1___  Person who  studies the life of people in the past.

5.-  Successful                   ___3___  Very big.

6.-  Knowledge                   ___10___  Something that stops  the progress of something.

7.-  Ancient                        ___2___  To quit.

8.-  Thick                           ___8___  Not thin.

9.-  Rule                            ___4___  Go away.

10.-Setback                      ___9___  To order.


 II. True or False?


 

1. __F__ El Mirador is a hidden temple from the Classic period. (It is an area form the Pre classic period)

2.  __T__ Richard Hansen is an archaeologist.

3.  __F__ Hansen has worked more than 10 years in the Maya culture. (More than 20 years)

4.  __F__ There are 2 periods on Maya’s history. (There are 3: Preclassic, classic and post classic)

5.  __F__ Big fiery jaguar paw was a Maya tribe. (The name corresponds to a king)

6. __F__ Hansen finds the tumb of the Maya king. (He doesn't find anything)

7. __T__ Hansen’s new plans are to start digging  another pyramid.

                

Keys Pre Test Freshmen: LIVING WITH A VOLCANO.

I. Vocabulary. Match the word with its corresponding definition.


18
21
12
17
5
20
7
23
22
9
10
8
2
13
14
24
16
3
1
19
4
1
6
11


II. Say whether the statements are right (R) or wrong (W). Justify the wrong ones.


1. W   
2. W
3. R
4. R
5. R
6. W
7. W
8. W
9. W
10. R
11. W 
12. W
13. W
14. W
15. R
16. W
17. W
18. R
19. W
20. R
21. W
22. R
23. R
24. W
25. R
26. W
27. R
28. R
29. R
30. R
31. W
32. R
33. R
34. W
35. R
36. W


III. Listen and complete the blanks with most suitable words.


Today thousands people live on and around the volcano. The volcanic ash makes excellent farmland. For centuries, people have been farming the rich volcanic earth and growing their food near the volcano. Now, many people are also making money from tourists who come to see the eruptions. 


Although people have been living on Etna for a long time, it doesn't mean that it's an  easy place to live. The town of Nicolosi is just 12 miles down the hill from the crater. The village was first built more than 800 years ago, but eruptions from Etna have destroyed it twice. The people who live in the village know that Nicolosi could be destroyed by Etna again. Yet, the town also benefits from being so close to the volcano. It's an interesting relationship between man and land. 
 

Reunión de Apoderados

Se cita a reunión de Apoderados para el día Jueves 26 de Agosto a las 19:00 horas en sala 212. Se encarece su asistencia y puntualidad. Luis Lema, Profesor Jefe.

PRE TEST SOPHOMORE CLASSES

I. Match the words with their meaning in English.

1.(to) improve         ____ Difficult

2.Powerful              ____ Not complete.

3.Often                    ____ To go to another place to live.

4.Luckily                 ____ Burned skin by the sunlight.

5.“at least”              ____ Panel to avoid insects.

6.(to) remind          ____ Preconceived image of someone.

7.Tip                       ____ Young person.

8.None                   ____ Making something better.

9.Hard                   ____ Having a similar opinion.

10.(to) review         ____ Very strong.

11.Stressed            ____ Exterior.

12.Suntanned        ____ Common, typical.

13.(to) move           ____ To check something again.

14.Teenage            ____ Very frequent.

15.Stereotype         ____ the minimum of something.

16.Partly                 ____ Fortunately.

17.(to) agree            ____ Pressured.

18.Outdoor              ____ Suggestion, recommendation.

19.Average              ____ Nothing.

20.Screen (for doors)  ____ Making someone remember something.

II. Complete the sentences with the right word.

1. Matthew is married and has two _________ children.

2. Here in Australia people live a more __________ life.

3. Things are relaxed down under, the clothes people wear, and the way they talk to ____________.

4.  Everyone can  ___________ their memory if the want to.

5. Mozart’s wife often had to ________ him what day it was.

6. The adult human brain _____________ 1.4 kilograms.

7. A good ________ for your memory is to try to use new information immediately.

 III. True or False?

1.____The human brain can’t hold as much information as a computer.

2.____ Mozart’s brain was excellent, he remembered everything.

3.____ It is difficult to learn when you are stressed.

4.____ Australian houses have one floor only.

5.____ British and Australian people are very different.

6.____ Matthew has fought a crocodile.

FRESHMEN PRE TEST

I. Match the concept with its definition.

1. Poles                      ____ Storm with loud noises and flashes of light.


2. Flood                      ____ Make something bigger in number.

3. Cut down               ____ A large amount of water that covers an area.

4. Dramatic               ____ A piece of land that is surrounded by water.

5. Melt                     ____ Climate at a certain time and place.

6. Weather              ____ Impressive often surprising

7. Increase             ____ A very strong circular wind.

8. Thunderstorm     ____ Two points at the exact top and bottom of the erath.

9. Island                 ____ To make something fall down by cutting it.

10. Tornado           ____ Change from a solid to aliquid by heat.


11. Whirlwind      ____ A person who studies or teaches science.
12. Scientist        ____ Violent storm with a very strong wind.

II. Say whether the staments are right (R) or wrong (W).

1. ____ Tornadoes are whirlwinds with speeds up to 400 km per hour.


2. ____ Some islands might disappear if the ice melts.

3. ____ In Britain there are 1.000 tornadoes every year.

4. ____ Tornadoes are only one sign of the world’s climate changes.

5. ____ Human activities are the problems of whirlwinds.

6. ____ Tornadoes can’t kill.

7. ____ Some islands might disappear if the ice melts.

8. ____ The increase in the number of thunderstorms is not a sigh that the climate is changing.

9. ____ Tornadoes are also called twisters.

10. ____ Some scientists say the climate changes are natural.

11. ____ If the ice at the poles continues to melt, sea levels won’t go up.

12. ____ The problems of climate changes won’t go away unless we do something.

13. ____ Burning too much oil is the cause of temperature changes.

III. Use will / won’t and a verb from the box.

Have – take – phone – finish – be (2) – win - make- come

1. A: Will you come to the cinema on sunday?

B: I’m not sure. I __________________ on saturday.



2 A: Don’t change your clothes now. We _________________ late.

B: No, we won’t. We _________________ a taxi.



3 A: George will have a surprise party next weekend.

B: Why?

A: It’s his birthday. He ________________ very happy.



4 A: She ________________ the tennis match tomorrow.

B: Why not!

A: She ________________ mistakes. She always makes mistakes in important matches



5 A: _________________ Steve ________________ the work tonight?

B: No, he won’t finish. He ______________ time.

IV. QUESTIONNAIRE “Our fragile planet”

1. How do tornadoes look on tv?

2. How many twisters are there in the USA every year?

3. What will happen if temperatures continue to rise?

4. Name other signs that the world’s climate is changing.

5. What are the places affected by twisters?

6. What do scientists say about temperatures changes?

7. What will happen if the ice at the pole melts?

8. What kind of human activities cause temperature changes?

9. What can you do to stop global warming?

10. What is global warming?

11. Why do you think climate is changing?